Hokies Release 2005-06 Basketball Schedule

Virginia Tech released the 2005-2006 men’s basketball
schedule on Tuesday afternoon. It is highlighted by tough out of conference
games against Ohio State and Stanford, while national powers such as Duke, North
Carolina and Georgia Tech will be visiting Cassell Coliseum.

The Hokies open the season as the hosts of a round robin
tournament in Blacksburg. Tech will face Radford on Thursday, Nov. 10, Bowling
Green on Saturday, Nov. 12 and Western Carolina on Sunday Nov. 13. The Hokies
will then stay at home for three more games against Mount St. Mary’s, Marshall
and Morgan State before traveling to Columbus to take on Ohio State in the
ACC-Big Ten Challenge. The Ohio State game will be on Monday, Nov. 28 and will
be televised by ESPN2 at 7:30.

Tech’s first ACC game will be the following Sunday at
Duke in a game that will be televised by FSN. North Carolina A&T and St.
John’s will the travel to Blacksburg before the Hokies head to Las Vegas to
take on Stanford in a made for television game that will be broadcasted on ESPN.

Virginia Tech then faces three in state opponents before
playing 15 consecutive ACC games. The Hokies will host William & Mary, and
must travel to Old Dominion and James Madison.

Tech’s home schedule will feature UNC, UVA, Duke,
Georgia Tech, Boston College, NC State, Florida State and Clemson. VT will
travel to Duke, Florida State, Maryland, Wake Forest, Clemson, Virginia, Miami
and Boston College.

Tech’s schedule will feature at least 16 televised
games, including one ABC game (vs. NC State), two ESPN games (Stanford, vs.
Duke), and two ESPN2 games (at Ohio State, vs. North Carolina). ABC, ESPN and
ESPN2 will visit Blacksburg a total of three times this season. The Hokies will
also play at Miami in a game that will be televised by ESPNU.

Following the regular season finale at Boston College on
March 4, Tech will travel to Greensboro, NC to take part in the ACC Tournament,
which begins on March 9.

The Hokies return four starters from a team that went
16-14 overall, finished fourth in the ACC with an 8-8 record, and received a
post season bid for the first time since the 1995-96 season.

The basketball schedule on TechSideline.com has not yet
been updated to show the new 2005-06 schedule. To view the complete schedule,
see hokiesports.com.

The recently released Associated Press preseason football
poll has ranked the Hokies #8 in the nation. That marks Virginia Tech’s
highest preseason ranking in the AP Poll. The Hokies received a total of 1,184
points and were ranked higher than any other ACC team. The Miami Hurricanes were
ranked #9 with 1,142, while Florida State came in ranked #14. The other ranked
ACC teams are #22 Boston College and #25 Virginia.

Defending National Champion USC is ranked #1 by the AP,
receiving 60 of a possible 77 votes. Texas, Tennessee, Michigan and LSU round
out the top five. Ohio State and Oklahoma are ranked sixth and seventh, while
Florida comes in at tenth.

Beginning with the 2005 season, the AP Poll will no longer
be a part of the BCS formula. The AP Poll will be replaced by the Harris Poll,
which will be made up of former college football coaches, players and
administrators. The first Harris Poll will be released on September 25.